page_title: Rochester Institute of Technology
section_title: Mascot
hierarchical_section_title: Rochester Institute of Technology / Athletics / Mascot
caption_attribution_description: English: Bronzed Bengal Tiger Statue located on the Quarter Mile, Rochester Institute of Technology. The tiger statue is a representation of Spirit, the Bengal tiger cub RIT adopted as its first mascot in 1963. Created by sculptor Duff Wehle. Dedicated November 10, 1989.
context_page_description: Rochester Institute of Technology is a private research university in the town of Henrietta in the Rochester, New York metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees and online masters as well.
  The university was founded in 1829 and is the tenth largest private university in the country in terms of full-time students. It is internationally known for its science, computer, engineering, and art programs, as well as for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a leading deaf-education institution that provides educational opportunities to more than 1000 deaf and hard-of-hearing students. RIT is known for its Co-op program that gives students professional and industrial experience. It has the fourth oldest and one of the largest Co-op programs in the world.
  RIT student population is approximately 19,000 students, about 16,000 undergraduate and 3000 graduate. Demographically, students attend from all 50 states in the United States and from more than 100 countries around the world.
context_section_description: RIT's athletics nickname is the "Tigers", a name given following the undefeated men's basketball season of 1955–56. Prior to that, RIT's athletic teams were called the "Techmen" and had blue and silver as the sports colors. In 1963, RIT students fundraised using ‘Tigershares’ to buy a rescued Bengal tiger cub which became the university's mascot, named SpiRIT which stands for Student Pride in RIT(Rochester Institute of Technology).  Ambitious students were trained as the Tiger Cubs handlers and took him to most sport events until 1964.  It was then discovered that the cub was ill and eventually he was put down due to these health complications. The original tiger's pelt now resides in the RIT Archive Collections at RIT Libraries. RIT helped the Seneca Park Zoo purchase a new tiger shortly after SpiRIT's death, but it was not used as a school mascot. A bronze sculpture by D.H.S. Wehle in the center of the Henrietta campus now provides an everlasting version of the mascot.
  RIT's team mascot is a version of this Bengal Tiger named RITchie. RITchie was the selected name entered in 1989 by alumnus Richard P. Mislan during a College Activities Board "Name the RIT Tiger" contest. After it was announced that the RIT Men's Hockey Team was moving from Division III to Division I in 2005, RITchie was redesigned and made his debut in the fall of 2006.
caption: Statue of SpiRIT on the Quarter Mile
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